Pumping Questions & Storing Breastmilk

Hi there,
I became a mom for the second time around to twins this time in January as well. This is just one opinion and you will read and hear multiple things...so take what is useful.

1-Once your milk supply is established (some say about 4 weeks) many books say you can go up to five hours without breastfeeding or pumping without taking a hit in supply. This varies with each individual though and amount of fluid & calorie intake as well. If you start to feel your breasts get very hard or lumpy, breastfeed or pump or manually express when you are out. You don't want to get mastitis. Plus, it will start to hurt! Eventually, your supply will be established enough that you will be able to go all night without pumping or breastfeeding, but that will, likely, take a bit longer and will require you to feed the baby plenty during the day to keep your supply up. At this age, the most frequent recommendation is the not longer than 5 hours one. I don't go longer than four hours and my babies were born on 01/03, but I might go five at this point if I were only nursing one baby.

2-If you are breastfeeding about seven or eight times a day, you can pump when you want to make extra milk bottle and not worry at all about supply. The pumping will likely increase your supply if you are breastfeeding that many times a day not decrease it in the long run. You have to time your pumping though so you'll have enough to breastfeed and satisfy the baby at the next scheduled feeding (if you are on a schedule). Having extra milk bottles stored is a plus!

3-No, its not too late for a bottle. Some people will say if the first kind of bottle you offer (brand) doesn't work, try others and revisit others until you find one that works for your baby. Everyone has their preference on brand it seems, I like the Avent ones because the infant has to actively nurse to make the milk come out just like breastfeeding--it won't just drip into their mouth like some bottles. Even though I breastfeed, I make sure my babies have at least one bottle of breastmilk a day so they will be willing to take a bottle, plus it allows Dad to feed them.

4-There are many guidelines out there. The one I go with is 72 hours for refrigerated breastmilk. I don't know if you can go from fridge to freezer or not, I've never had occasion to do that--I either use the fridge bottle or discard it or put it in the freezer to begin with--sorry!

5-Yes. Current recommendation is not to warm it in the microwave of course, but also lately you'll see not to warm it in a warm stove bath either (old way). Currently, putting the bottle in a cup of hot water or using a bottle warmer (steam) or running it under a hot tap are the suggested methods. I use a bottle warmer.

6-Breastmilk is a great medium for bacteria to grow. Breastmilk should never sit out for more than one hour.

The nursing mother's companion is a great book. For information on spacing your sleeping/feedings over the next few months, the Babywise book (not to the strictest sense, but for some guidelines/ideas) worked well for us. Other people like the Secrets of the Baby Whisperer and so on.

Best to you new mom!
Cheers,
A.
Mom to three

Hi there. I am a working Mom of a 5 month old, breastfed only baby and I had a lot of the same questions as you did! I went back to work when my daughter was 6 weeks old so we started introducing her to the bottle when she was 4 weeks. She hesitated at first but after a few tries (3 or 4) she started taking it well. I also started pumping around this time. I would feed my daughter in the morning and pump immediately after she was done, then again right before I went to bed. This allowed my husband to get up with her in the middle of the night and let me get some much needed rest. Once I went back to work, I fed her from the breast in the morning and the evenings and continued to pump at work. After a week, she decided that she didn't want the breast anymore and actually preferred the bottle. We are now on a very comfortable schedule. I pump 4 times a day at 6a.m., 11a.m., 4 p.m., and 9 p.m., so you do not have to pump every 2 hours to keep your supply up. Your body will conform to your schedule. I am able to pump about around 8-10 ounces at a time which keeps her well stocked and I am even able to freeze around 6 ounces every other day.
Breast milk will stay good up to 4 days in the fridge and up to 6 months in the back of the freezer.
Once you re-heat refrigerated milk and it will be good up to an hour. I live in Texas so it may be even longer in cooler climates. It is better to freeze fresh milk as opposed to refrigerated.

I hope this helps! Good luck!

Looks like you got all your questions answered, but I do have a few thoughts to add. First, I have tried all the different bottles for my 5 month old son (starting him on a bottle of breast milk every once in a while when he was about 5-6 weeks old) and have found that while very young he liked the Adiri bottle, but now he is happiest with the Dr. Brown's bottles. I like these bottles too because they fit with my Medela pump so I can pump right into the bottle that he will feed from.

Before returning to work, I tried to pump at least once a day after his morning feeding so I could have some stored for when I went to work. I am glad I did that, because when I returned to work when he was 12 weeks old, it took several weeks to get into a pumping schedule at the office and I had to supplement my daily-pumped bottles with some frozen.

Also, I just started taking Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle last week and I am noticed a marked increase in my supply, so you might consider taking those herbs if you are worried about supply. Hope that helps.

Take care, K.

This is what I did with all of mine, they are happy and healthy now. The recommendation from drs changed with everyone of mine but since it worked b4 with no probelms, I just kept doing it. I will answer after each ?.

1- Do i have to pump every 2-3 hours in order to keep my milk supply going?
NO, you can pump when ever you want to. Do NOT pump every time. Your milk supply is a supply and demand thing. The more you use, the more you make. Isn't nature grand? So, if you pump every time, you are going to make more milk and become engorge (very painful) when you don't use it all, like if you don't pump. I learned this one the hard way.

2- what happens if I only pump twice per day one in the morning & one in the evening? (or even once in the morning) will that dry out my milk? especially that I stay at home most of the time, so I would like to have her on my breast at home. what's the deal with that?
Nursing outside of home is not hard but if you are uncomfortable doing that, just pump once or twice a day. If you are out and it is nursing time you might feel a little full, then nurse as soon as possible. Again your milk supply will adjust to use.

3- Now that she is 26 days old & i haven't started her on bottles yet, is it too late now to get her used to taking bottles? I keep hearing horror stories about babies that would never take a bottle just bec their mom didn't offer them the bottle earlier. now the mom is suffering as she has to breast-feed exclusively? BTW my DD would take a pacifier only when she is starving, other than that, she totally refuses it! Is it too late for a bottle?
Never to late to introduce it but I would try when she is really hungry, then she is more .ikely to comply. It takes some longer than others but just keep trying, esp when she is really really hungry.

4- how long can i store breast milk in the fridge? some say 7 days others say 48 hours? & can i freeze breast milk after 2 days in the fridge?
My dr. had me starte this way, the recommedations changed with every kid but I have alwasy done it this way b/c it worked with the first one and they are all healthy. I pumped it, put it in a fresh sterile bottle in the fridge for 4 hours to cool it off then poured it into a bottle in the freezer. This is called layering. You cool off the fresh pumped milk and then pour it over the stuff in the freezer. When you take it out, you will be able to see the layers it was frozen in. When one bottle gets full, start another one.I would store it in the freezer for 45 days. It never lasted that long though. I would freeze it as soon as possible and not leave it in the fridge any longer than necessary. When heating, use a pan of water. The microwave will destroy the nutrients in the milk.

5- Can I reheat breast milk that was only refrigerated?
Yes, reheat the bottle in a pan of warm water. Warm the water then place the bottle in the warm water until warm. Very easy.

6- how long can breastmilk stay outside fridge after heating?
Two hours is the recommended limit for breast mild or formula.

Good luck, if you have more question, lmk, if I can help, I will.

1. the amount you produce depends on how much you are using at each feeding. if your baby feeds longer then you will make more and if she feeds less the you will make less. So if you baby drinks 5 oz then next time your body will make 5 oz. If next time she eats 10 oz your body will be sure to make 10 minimum and next time she eats only 8 othen it will make 8 oz minimum and so on. trust your body it knows what it's doing.
1,2. your milk production is based on when you feed and how much you feed at each feeding. You will not dry up. Your body can't tell the difference between pumping and directly breast feeding.
3. babies sometimes are picky. the only way to find out is to try.
4.not too sure myself
5.yes, you can heat breast milk after refrigeration and actually it is a requirement. Heat it by running it under some warm/hot water till it gets to proper temp.Same with frozen. Easier would be to put the bag of milk in a cup of warm/hot water. test it before you feed her so it's not too hot.
6.only take out when you are ready to feed. dicard anything that is left over and use new milk for next time. Anyway, it's not good to let your baby soothe herself with bottle or breast so you shouldn't need milk except at mealtimes. Hope this helps.

Hi, I breastfed both of my girls a LONG time (at least 2 years)!! ha! Anyway, here are the answers that I remember. Also, I would recommend that you call and/or talk to someone in La Leche League. They are always very helpful.

1- Do i have to pump every 2-3 hours in order to keep my milk supply going? NO, IF YOU ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO GIVE HER MILK FROM YOUR BREAST, THEN IT ISN'T NECESSARY TO PUMP SO OFTEN. SHE IS THE BEST PUMP THERE IS. IF YOU ARE JUST PUMPING FOR SAKE OF HAVING MILK IN A BOTTLE WHEN YOU GO OUT, THEN JUST PUMP ENOUGH FOR YOU TO HAVE SOME MILK FOR THE BOTTLE.
2- what happens if I only pump twice per day one in the morning & one in the evening? (or even once in the morning) will that dry out my milk? especially that I stay at home most of the time, so I would like to have her on my breast at home. what's the deal with that? AGAIN YOU SHOULDN'T WORRY ABOUT YOUR MILK DRYING UP. IF YOU ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO HAVE HER AT YOUR BREAST THE MAJORITY OF THE TIME YOU SHOULD BE FINE. PUT HER AT THE BREAST EVERY CHANCE YOU CAN AND ONLY USE THE BOTTLE WHENEVER YOU FEEL NECESSARY. SHE SEEMS TO BE OLD ENOUGH TO AVOID NIPPLE CONFUSION, BUT YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE OF THAT.
3- Now that she is 26 days old & i haven't started her on bottles yet, is it too late now to get her used to taking bottles? I keep hearing horror stories about babies that would never take a bottle just bec their mom didn't offer them the bottle earlier. now the mom is suffering as she has to breast-feed exclusively? BTW my DD would take a pacifier only when she is starving, other than that, she totally refuses it! Is it too late for a bottle? NO...SOME KIDS WILL TAKE IT AND SOME WON'T. MY OLDER DAUGHTER NEVER TOOK THE BOTTLE. WHEN SHE WAS OLDER (8 MONTHS OR SO), I WAS GONE FOR MEETINGS IN THE DAY AND SHE WOULD JUST WAIT FOR ME TO COME HOME AND THEN NURSE AGAIN...SHE DIDN'T LIKE THE BOTTLE AT ALL. MY LITTLE ONE TOOK THE BOTTLE WHEN I WASN'T AROUND, BUT WAS AT THE BREAST THE REST OF THE TIME.
4- how long can i store breast milk in the fridge? some say 7 days others say 48 hours? & can i freeze breast milk after 2 days in the fridge? I WOULD CALL LA LECHE LEAGUE FOR THE BEST INFO...I DONT' REMEMBER. YOU CAN FREEZE THE MILK FOR SURE...I DON'T REMEMBER THAT IT HAD TO BE IN THE FRIDGE FIRST THOUGH.
5- Can I reheat breast milk that was only refrigerated? YOU DON'T REALLY HEAT BREAST MILK. YOU PUT THE BAG INTO A GLASS OF WARM WATER AND LET IT COME TO ROOM TEMP. YOUR BREASTMILK IS ROOM TEMP. YOU AREN'T SUPPOSED TO MICROWAVE THE MILK.
6- how long can breastmilk stay outside fridge after heating? I KNOW THAT I READY 4-8 HOURS...THIS WOULD BE ANOTHER GOOD QUESTION FOR LLL. I THINK I NORMALLY HAD IT OUT NO MORE THAN 4 HOURS.

I hope this helps...good luck!!

Hi, first of all, things will get get going smoothly, so don't worry! It takes quite a while to get a routine, or at least it did for me. If you live in San Antonio area, you can call the Methodist Hospital lactation center as it is open to all women in the area. If you aren't in this area, perhaps the area where you are has a lactation help phone number. Also, I have a 5 year old and 5 month old and did and am breastfeeding, so I can give a little advice from one perspective. Pumping on the same schedule as the baby eats (so you are removing the milk as if the baby were) seems to help me to keep up my supply. I have run errands and chosen to sit in the car to feed my baby while out (but be sure not to run anything like the air or radio if you don't have the engine running to keep the battery up!). I also sit in the cafe section of the store (Target, etc) or a restaurant or the dressing room to feed (at the mall for instance). I have also fed outdoors in the park while with other moms or my family, and I just had to build up my confidence, so I encourage you to do what you feel is best for your daughter, because you'll be doing the right thing!

The Lansinoh breastmilk storage bags have guidelines for milk storage (Room temp - less than 72 degrees - 10 hours, in fridge - less than 39 degrees - 8 days, and freezer 2 weeks). I have read reheating is not recommended as the heat can destroy some of the beneficial properties. It is recommended to swirl the milk in its own container in a container of warm, not boiling water, and never reheat in microwave.

With regard to pacifiers, my girls would seldom, seldom take any pacifiers. But my nephew loves his. Just a personal issue to each baby. And my first would be messy taking from a bottle but my second is very neat, with milk seldom running out of her mouth. When she was very little, though, she had a lot of milk running out of her mouth, and I assume she was getting used to the bottle. I give her one bottle a day or every other day now, so she'll remain familiar with it. Some kids refuse bottles, I hear, but I just gently kept giving my babies reminder bottles with just a little milk and they eventually got the hang of it. I don't think it is ever too late to introduce a bottle, but I base that on my experience. It all takes time and lots of patience! Sometimes with sleep deprivation and the fog new moms have (at least I was in a fog both times!!), it seems like things take forever, but trust your decisions, your intuition, and you'll be just fine. Good luck!!!!

It seems like you have gotten plenty of answers on proper storing and reheating. I also saw several responses that suggested the Medela double electric breast pump and I definitely agree.

I stayed home for 4 months and pretty much exclusively breast fed, and I bought a Medela to pump at work. I did pump, but only for about a month. I realize everyone is different and can handle different things, but for me pumping was torture. Alot of it had to do with separation anxiety, I did not want to come back to work and I felt horribly guilty and depressed. So everytime I pumped I just felt completely drained. My point is only pump when you feel it is necessary or when you want to bottle feed your baby. Pumping is a great way to have a back-up supply or to allow yourself a break when it is needed. However, from my personal experience, I wouldn't recommend using it as a replacement for breast feeding if you enjoy feeding directly from the source. Again, I realize everyone does what works for them, so you might find you prefer to pump. It just wasn't that way for me.

I would not stress about your supply decreasing if you miss one or two feedings. I began to wean my son after 5 months. I continued to pump only once a day and breast fed in the morning and evening. I did not see a decrease in supply and only had a few days of engorgement and leaking when changing from pumping every 3 hours.

At six months, I stopped pumping all together and only breastfed in the mornings and evenings. We began to supplement with formula then. By the end of seven months, he was completely off breast milk and on to formula. I still have milk at 10 months. I don't have leaking or fullness, but it is there. So your supply will be fine. Actually, if your baby isn't eating every 3 hours and you are not planning to be away from her for long periods of time you need to let your body adjust to her schedule so you don't continue to overproduce. I would have preferred to breast feed longer, but pumping at work just proved too draining for me.

You are doing a great job! Breastfeeding is a wonderful thing, and I really miss it! I hope you can keep it up for a while. I much preferred traveling when I was breastfeeding. Packing formula and bottles is not fun!

I was very confused as well. I don't really know the answers. I think how much you have to pump depends on you and your supply. I had low supply, so I had to pump every 3hrs at first to keep it up. I think you can start a bottle any time, if your baby takes it or not depends more on the baby than how long you waited to introduce it. I kept fridge milk up to 7 days. If I was going to freeze it I tried to do it within a few days. Once I took it out of the freezer I used it within 24 hrs. Fresh breatmilk just pumped I would give him within 4 hours, but if it came out of the fridge and I heated it-I only kept it for 1 hour. That is what I did. The experts on the subject are at The Lactation Center. They have board certified lactation consultants that will answer all your questions for free!!! ###-###-####
Hope this helps.
LL

Congrats on the new baby and making the wonderful choice to breastfeed. It is not too late to start her on a bottle. In fact you should wait a while after birth to avoid nipple confusion. If you are going to heat up the milk that's been in the fridge use hot water NEVER put it in the microwave it breaks down the nutrients. So yes you can heat breast milk thats been in the fridge. If you have heated the breast milk then you need to give it to her pretty soon don't just leave it out and once you heat up the milk don't put it back in the fridge. Breastmilk can stay out longer than formula, my lactation consultant said after getting it out use it within four hours. As far as pumping if you only pump twice a day (and do not breastfeed other than that) then your milk supply will diminsh. If you want to pump I would try pumping in between nursing sessions. If you are not wanting to feed out in public because of privacy they make some throws that go all the way around so no one can see.... If you are only going to pump you do need to pump as often as she would feed or you do run the risk of having your milk supply diminsh. I hope this helps and its not too confusing! Good Luck

I can see you've already received lots of responses, but thought I would share my experiences. I have a 14 month old who I'm in the process of weaning. I breastfed exclusively for the first 12 months, but went back to work when he was 3 months old and the nanny bottle fed him my breastmilk while I was at work.

1- I did not pump every 2-3 hours when I was away from my son and I kept my milk supply up. "They" say you should pump every time you replace a bottle with a nursing session. If you're breastfeeding exclusively and not planning to go back to work, if you bottle feed your daughter here and there, I would not stress about pumping every single time once your milk supply becomes established. I would say that after 6 weeks of nursing, you should be fine to pump when you feel the need or want to, to help build up your supply in the freezer!

2- Again, I think you should pump when you want, since you stay home with her. If you're mostly nursing, skipping one feeding here and there will not cause you to lose your milk.

3- Our son did not like the pacifier ever. We tried to use it in extreme cases of need, but we didn't really want to use it either. We didn't offer our son the bottle until he was 6 weeks old. Some babies never want the bottle, but it won't necessarily be a function of WHEN you offered it. You're not too late to try and offer the bottle now. Our son hated the pacifier, but never had a problem with the bottle. I was told that the Dr. Brown's bottles were most similar to a mother's nipple, so we used those and they worked great.

4- I stored FRESH (never frozen) breastmilk in the fridge for 5-7 days. And yes, I would freeze breastmilk that has been in the fridge for a few days. If I put it in the fridge and then didn't end up using it, I would freeze it so it would last longer.

5- I reheated breastmilk every time I used it. I think I was the exception, but I tried to NEVER throw away breastmilk. I worked so hard to pump and I was working, so it was liquid gold in our house. My nanny would defrost the milk for the day in the morning and make the bottles. She would heat the milk (in the sink only, never heat on the stovetop) before feeding him. Whatever he didn't finish in that feeding, she would immediately put back in the fridge for the beginning of the next feeding. We never combined "old" milk with "new" milk, but we tried to never throw away. I never kept milk that had been previously frozen and thawed in the fridge for more than 24 hours though.

6- We heated the milk, feed him and once he was done, immediately put it back in the fridge. Overall, it probably wasn't out of the fridge for longer than 30-45 minutes.

Good luck with everything. You're doing great! Most important is that now you're the mom, so you should do what you feel comfortable with. I had friends who threw out milk every time their child had touched it even if they didn't finish the bottle. Some didn't. You will know what's best.

Not to be offensive, but I didn't consider nursing to be "suffering", I do consider having to run around to find warm water or a microwave suffering when I have the perfect temp stuff on tap, suffering, especially when baby is crying like a banshee and I could feed without the fuss by nursing.

With that said, I would give your girl a little longer to nurse, say at least 6 weeks, because the latch is differant and I have found trying to switch to a bottle will cause you pain because a bottle's nipple doesn't have nerve endings.

You are not going to "dry up your milk" if you pump in addition to her normal feedings. You may actually add to your supply.

Milk that has been in the fridge for 2 days should NOT be frozen. You should freezez as soon after pumping as possible. You may even consider pumping for a single day and freezing everything you got especially if you don't produce a lot for a pump like me.

You can warm the milk that was in the fridge, but you have to do it with warm water and do NOT shake, you should twirl the milk.

I highly reccommend that you find a Le Leche meeting. The ladies there can answer your questions and give you the support you need.

Good luck!

I am a Lactation Consultant and will try to answer all of your questions. Here goes...
1. Basically, you have to have some sort of stimulation and removal of milk every 2-3 hours. This can be by the baby or by a pump.
2. Same answer as above. If you decrease the stimulation and removal of milk, your supply will decrease. This is how you wean.
3. It is not too late for a bottle. Usually we recommend waiting at least 2-3 weeks before introducing a bottle. If she will no take a regular bottle, try Adiri's breast bottle.
4. What is currently recommended for storage is 5-7 days in the refrigerator. You can transfer from the fridge to the freezer at anytime during this 5-7 day period. Because breastmilk has so many antibodies, it does not grow bacteria as readily as formula.
5. You can reheat refigerated breastmilk by placing in warm water. Do not microwave.
6. Breastmilk is good at room temperature for about 4 hours.

Why not just nurse your baby when you're away from home? This can be done so discreetly that no one will have any idea about what you're doing and you won't have to drag any supplies with you except diapers and a good burp cloth. It does take a little practice though.

There is a great carrier called the New Native that was so handy when my daughther was this age a few years ago. I was even able to nusrse her while giving a presentation to a group of engineers and no one had any clue about what was going on under the sling.

You will likely find that your daughter prefers you to the bottle and she may become confused if you are holding her and trying to give her a bottle. Also, babies rarely fall asleep using a bottle at this age. Because they are able to drain the bottle so much faster than a breast, they don't get the sucking that they need to calm themselves. Nursing also helps form their hard palettes - which leads to great teeth and no need for braces!

Sorry I'm not much help but nursing is just so much simpler with a little practice.

If you are breastfeeding every 2-3 hours you do not need to pump more often then you desire. It will not dry out your milk, but may increase it (meaning the time you usually pump if you do not pump then you may have a 'let down' at that time! Not a bad thing, just can be a little surprising. haha)

None of my children liked pacis. They don't recommend introducing the bottle sooner then 8 or 9 weeks because the baby may refuse to nurse after having a bottle and if nursing is VERY important to you, introducing the bottle may not be worth it for added convenience.

IF I am not going to use EBM within 24 hours I freeze it. I had milk in the fridge for four days and it soured. If it's been in there for two days and you want to freeze it, it will PROBABLY be safe. I always taste the milk before I give it because I have come across sour milk occasionally.

IF milk has not been heated, it can be heated, but it is not recommended to re-heat it. That's why you should freeze and thaw small amounts at a time. If you thaw in the fridge you have the best chances of not spoiling the milk.

Do not leave previously frozen or refrigerated milk outside the fridge for longer then an hour or so.

Ultimately, I learned to nurse in public. I took a bottle when I was going to be in a situation where it would not be possible to nurse and nursed before I left the house and had the bottle JUST IN CASE. But ultimately I found it better for baby and for me to nurse in public.

1. You should pump just as often as you are nursing when you are away from your daughter. Like if you are out during a normal feeding, pump, but if you are home, just nurse.
2. If you are only pumping 2 times a day and not nursing, then yes it will decrease your supply since the demand will be less. If you are nursing in between pumping, then it won't decrease.
3. It's not too late for a bottle. Some kids do refuse a bottle though, no matter how late it is introduced. It is going to take some getting used to on her part.
4. I kept breastmilk in the fridge for 1 week, and yes you can freeze it after it has been in the fridge for a few days.
5. Yes
6. exactly, i am not certain. But breastmilk can stay at room temp for a few hours without spoiling. Breastmilk has so many good antibodies, it takes a long time for it to spoil.

The only internet resource I use for BF questions is the Le Leche Leauge and Kellymom.com

Hope this helps.

You should definitely keep pumping every three hours because if not your body will think you are only breast feeding twice a day and your body will produce less milk. Trust me once it starts to diminish it is so hard to get it back.
About the bottles I have actually heard that the best thing to do with a bottle is to wait until they are used to the breast. I was told not to give my baby the bottle the first month so I dont think you should have any broblem.
about the breast milk I have heard so many different things but try babycenter.com or googling it. I believe breast milk should not be heated again once it has already been heated once and breastmilk should only stay out for one hour if they drank from it and two if they have not.

hope this helps a little.

Hello, and Congratulations on your precious new baby. I have 3 children and I breastfed them all up to 2 years. It has been a while but I do know that your body will produce what it needs to too feed her......in other words, if you pump in the morning and store that for use while your out but still have her on the breast at home you will produce enough to do that all the time. I hope that makes sense. As for the needing to do it every 2-3 hours just because, I don't think that is necessary but until your body gets used to the change in feeding patterns it might be a little uncomfortable for you. I hope that helps you a little bit....it has been a while for me. Your baby will let you know everything so just be sensitive to her needs. The LA Leche League is a great tool for all questions you may have and I am sure they must have a website. Again, Congratulations! Take care....

Pumping does not dry up your milk. My little one never took to the breast so I have been exclusively pumping since he was 4 days old he just turned 4 months. We use the Avent bottles with the #1 nipple, we love them. Only pumping occasionally is fine. Here's the rules we go by from my wonderful pediatrician: fridge stored milk should be used within 48 hours, it can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 weeks, and in a deep freezer for up to 6 months. Store the milk in an area of the fridge/freezer that has a pretty constant temperature not in the door or the veggie drawer. You can freeze it if it is less than 48 hours in the fridge or less than 4 hours at room temp. If left at room temp the milk should be used within 4 hours. Only warm up the amount of milk you think the baby is going to eat. You can always warm more. Once warmed up the milk should be used, cooling warming then cooling and warming again destroys all the "good stuff" in the milk. If he doesnt drink the whole amount warmed up we throw it out. The Dr warned that bacteria from backwash could make the baby sick, if it was refed to him.
The methodist hospital has a lactation center (FREE advise to everyone) that can help answer questions I called them daily for the first couple of weeks their # is ###-###-####. They also have a clinic set up you can go in and they will help you out with the pump. In their retail store they have a pump bra that allows you to pump both breasts at one time and leaves your hands free. They told me to pump for 15 minutes at a time. I pumped every 3 hours day and night for the first 8 weeks, now that I have gone back to work I pump every 3-4 hours when my breast feel full and I can sleep for about 6-8 hours a night. The ladies at the lactation center are wonderful I wouldnt have made it this long without them. I think that bottle feeding the breast milk is a good thing. One great benefit is that it gives my husband and the grandparents the oppertunity to bond with his as well. My husband would feed him at night while I slept between pumpings. Hope this helps good luck.

So, I know that you have had lots and lots of info on this subject...But, I just wanted to give you some advice on the subject...I exclusivly pumped for an entire year for my daughter. She never grasped the latching on and I determined that I wanted my baby to have the breastmilk so I pumped. I pumped every 3 hours intially then less as she got older. I orignally had an Avent IQ electric with manual option. IT WAS HORRIBLE. After 2 months of manually pumping I bit the bullet and bought a Medela Advance Pump in Style, it saved my sanity. I ended up with so much milk that I donated over 600 oz. of milk to the Austin Milk Bank. So, here are the guide lines that the milk bank uses...
Breast milk can stay in the fridge for 7 days. After 7 days if you aren't going to use it throw it away or freeze it.
Breastmilk can be frozen for up to 3 months in a regular freezer. In a deep freezer it can stay there for 6 months. Always write what date and time you pumped the milk, just to make sure that you are using the oldest stuff first.
Get yourself a bottle warmer. I had 2 different ones. I had the Avent one that you submerge the bottle in hot water and left it in there for a few minutes. Make sure you shake the bottle before you give it to your baby (obviously...) I also had the 1st Year bottle warmer that you pour a little water into the warmer and it steams it. If the bottle is getting too hot put less water in the measuring thing. I liked the Avent better.I found warming the milk in warm water or running it under warm water time consuming. If you are going to use some frozen milk I would go ahead and thaw it a little in warm water but then transfer it to a bottle and warm a little more in the warmer. I did this for the first year of my daughter's life and she's a happy healthy 21 month old now. Just remember: Don't heat the milk in the microwave! Hope this is helpful stuff for you. Good Luck!

you have gotten a lot of relly good responses, and the referral to la leche league is good. one thing that i don't think was mentioned, but that should be, is that you ought to consider nursing her when you take her out. this is really common, and if you practice at home, you will get the hang of how to cover up yourself enough to feel comfortable doing it in a public place. there is nothing wrong with this!! if you are out to eat somewhere and just don't feel comfortable doing it at the table (although you can use a nice long blanket) then hopefully there will be a chair in the restroom. i say all of this because my first one just never ever got the hang of the bottle, and since my career came to a screeching halt when i had him, we just got used to nursing all the time. very special!

It takes about 2 months for your milk supply to normalize... so your only worry as far as milk production is nursing on demand. Your milk is produced as baby needs it. (By pumping and bottle feeding this early, you are jeopardizing your milk supply in that you are creating a false supply/demand ratio.)
Also, I have to ask, why are you wanting your baby to take a bottle if you're not going back to work? (Ironically, I just met a woman who is desparate for her baby to take to the breast.)
You can nurse discreetly in public or in your car if you are uncomfortable in front of people. Did you know that the breast can actually READ what germs your baby is exposed to and adjust your milk to help fight those germs? Bottle-feeding just can't compete!
Also, giving your baby a pacifier when you KNOW she's hungry? I don't get it, why not nurse her... therefore nourishing her and helping your milk supply.
It sounds like you might need warning: babies go through growth spurts around 2 weeks, 6 weeks and 8 weeks... and demand more nursing. So PLEASE feed her.
As far as storage, you can store breastmilk in the 'fridge for up to 3 days -- a top freezer for 6 months -- out in the open for up to 8 hours.

Yes, you can heat breastmilk that's been refrigerated, but use warm water immersion, not the microwave.

You may want to go to a La Leche League meeting or read The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. It may help you become more comfortable with the idea of breastfeeding and you'd learn a lot.

i stored breastmilk all the time. we had to stay at the hospital for 10 days when my son was born and i pumped after every feeding. we ended up leaving the hospital with almost 200 bottles filled.
i would pump as much as you can if you plan on only breast feeding so that your milk supply doesnt dry up. all women are different.
i think that shes still young enough to be able to transition to a bottle. you may just have to keep trying. my son did pretty good on going to a bottle but when we stopped giving it to him when he got a little older he wouldnt take it anymore when we tried to start back to giving him one. my son tooka pacifier till he was 3 months and wouldnt take it anymore.
you can store breastmilk in the fridge for 7 days if you put it in right after you pump. now if you take a freezed bottle of milk and the baby doesnt finish it then you can only leave it in the fridge for 24 hours.
im pretty sure you can put milk that has been in the fridge in the freezer. we had all our milk from the hospital in a fridge adn then when we got home put it in our freezer.
i think that you can reheat breastmilk that has been in the fridge. i have. just dont microwave it. has to be warmed in warm water.
i am guessing you mean how long can the milk stay in room temp after heating. i think its an hour. im pretty sure that is on all milk.
i had a piece of paper that had all the details. you should call your hospital womens center where you went to have your baby and see if the nursery has a form that has all the details on it. im sure they would be happy to email or mail you one or you could even go pick it up. hope that this has been helpful/

Hi Jasmine,

I will do my best to answer your questions, although it has been over a year since I weaned my daughter, so I might be a little rusty too. But, here we go:

1. You do not have to pump to keep up your milk supply as long as you are feeding your daughter at the appropriate times. In other words, you can either pump or feed, but you don't have to do both. When I was nursing my daughter, I would pump before I went to bed every night in order to have some in the freezer for when I wanted to give my daughter a bottle instead of the breast. She was sleeping through the night by then so she wasn't nursing at that time, but I would keep that last "feeding" and use the pump instead so that my milk wouldn't adjust to her not feeding then and not produce at that time. Pumping will help to keep up your milk supply, but you may not want to be pumping several times per day if you won't need that much stored milk. That's going to be up to you.

2. I am not sure I fully understand this question except to say that pumping won't dry you up. Now, once you pump, you won't have any milk left if your daughter needs a feeding (you may have to wait an hour or so for some to build back up if she wants to eat), so you'll have to take into consideration when you decide to pump. In other words, don't pump just before one of your daughter's feeding times and then try to put her to the breast. She may get frustrated because there won't be much left in there for her.

3. As for the right age to start a bottle, well, all kids are different I think. I don't remember exactly when we started with my daughter, but I think we waited at least a couple of weeks to make sure the breastfeeding got going really well. I certainly didn't want to end up with the opposite problem (a kid that only wanted a bottle when I wanted to nurse). Give it a shot and see what she does. If she won't take it from you, then you may have to have hubby or someone else try with you out of the room because if she knows your there, she may want the real deal. A lot of BF babies won't take bottles from mommy (at least not at first). I didn't have any trouble...my daughter took both with no problem, but again...all kids are different. You will just have to see what she does.

4. I wouldn't store breastmilk longer than 48 hours. 7 days is for sure too long in the refrigerator. I was usually more cautious with the milk and wouldn't freeze it if it had been in there longer than 24 hours because when I defrosted it, if it sat for longer than 24 hours in the fridge before I gave it to her, then I feared it might not be good anymore.

5. If you have heated the breastmilk once, then I wouldn't put it back in the fridge and reheat it again. Once it has been heated, anything she doesn't eat should be tossed.

6. I would use a bottle of breastmilk within an hour after heating. Any longer than that is too long.

These are just the guidelines I remember following, so I am by no means an expert, but I hope this helps you out a little. Best of luck and congrats on the breastfeeding! It's really rewarding to do and I really enjoyed it.

V.

Here are some helpful hints when it comes to breast feeding and pumping and bottle feeding. While your daughter feeds on one side, pump on the other. You wont get much so dont feel like it's all for nothing. Every little bit adds up. Take that milk and put in the fridge. Repeat this step again with the next feeding only switch sides. Let this milk cool in the fridge as well then you can add the cooled milk together and it can be stored in freezer bags in the freezer for 2 months if kept at the back of the freezer and not the door and stored for 6 months (or longer) in a deep freezer at 0 degrees. Pumping will never dry out your milk supply. It can only add to it. My daughter didn't start drinking breastmilk out of a bottle until she was 6 weeks old. She had a bit of a hard time at first but by 12 weeks, she was a pro. She switches between the bottle (at daycare) and the breast with no problems and no nipple confusion. My daughter also refuses pacifiers but she still takes a bottle without problems. Milk that has never been frozen can be safely stored in the fridge for 48 hours. It can be reheated once within 24 hours. So say you try to give her a bottle at 8 in the morning and she took a sip or two and then refused, you can put it back into the fridge and try again within 24 hours. My daughter is now a happy, healthy 4 1/2 month old and I've managed to keep up my supply even though I am back at work. Best of luck and I hope this helps.

here are few answers. There is also a La Leche League (breast feeding support) group that meets in Waco if you are interested. Log onto llli.org then put in USA and TX and Waco and it will give you the leaders tel # and e-mail address.

#1 no you don't have to pump every 2 hours. You can and that will give you some supply to put in the fridge or freezer. Your baby will keep up your supply while nursing throughout the day & night.

#2 your milk will not dry up if you do not pump. I tried pumping with each child I nursed and ever had much luck. but some moms do it exclusively. Don't assume because you don't get much when you are pumping that your milk is drying up. Like I said I couldn't get much milk while pumping but nursed 4 kids.

#3 The bottle thing depends on the child. My oldest never would take a bottle. I tried when she was 1-2 days old and she just got really mad at me. #2 took a bottle or 2 but never really liked the idea. #3 & #4 didn't mind bottles at all but I didn't introduce a bottle until they were older. So there is no real anwser some breast babies NEVER take bottles regardless of what you try.

#4 I am not sure of storage but I would think it was 48 hours in the fridge I don't know if you can freeze milk after you have had it in the fridge for 48 hours.

#5 yes you can warm refridgerated breast milk.

#6 I don't know how long you can leave it out of the fridge but a study was done with the last few years and they found that breast milk left on the counter for 1 hour had LESS bacteria than breast milk tht was tested directly from the fridge. The study showed that expressed breast milk actaully has its own anti bacterial quality. Not to say that you should feed a baby breast milk that has not been stored correctly but it is mot unsafe if left out for a little while.

Good luck,

Debra

I understand what you're going through. I breastfed both of my daughters for a year each. I went back to work part time after 3 months with both of them and never gave them formula. They were exclusively on breast milk. I bought a Medela, double pump because it was so much faster, especially at work when I had to pump in between seeing patients.
1-You need to pump every time your baby girl would be eating if you were with her to keep your supply up. It's crazy how you forget the little details when you're no longer nursing a little one...but, if you are feeding her every 2-3 hours then pump every 2-3 hours.
2-If you only pump 2xday, even though she is nursing when you're home with her, your body will adjust and make milk to supply that demand. You can try pumping more often or feeding closer together to increase your supply back to where it needs to be.
3-I didn't start my girls on bottles until 3 months and, yes, it was very difficult bc they did NOT want a bottle. It is not impossible, just difficult. Obviously, when I went back to work there was no choice but to bottle feed so they had to adjust. Eventually, after a few short days, they took to the bottle just fine and would take either bottle or nursing. Maybe you could leave the room and have your husband feed her for the first couple of times on a bottle. She will fuss at first but the outcome will be worth it.
4-I remember storing the breastmilk in the fridge for about 48 hours but sometimes if I had thawed a bottle on a Thurs. for daycare on Fri and she didn't drink it I would save it for Monday. She always did fine with that. I tried to keep it no more than 3 days.
5-You can reheat milk after its been refrigerated. Remember to heat it in a bottle warmer, not microwave bc microwave can break down the proteins.
6-After heating, it is good for 1 hour. As long as it is less than 1 hour I would sometimes reheat it for them (in the bottle warmer).
Hope it helps!!!

I know you got the answers to your questions, but I feel inclined to mention that if you want any kind of "freedom" you will need to get your baby to a bottle. My first wouldn't take one and I couldnt' even go to the gym for an hour. That said, I did always keep the other two on breastmilk in bottles. I also agree that nursing, even in public is never wrong and you should consider that as an option. Take a blanket, or get a nursing cape...it is way easier, cleaner and warmer than trying to get warm water or mix formula, and you can't really carry around breastmilk in a bottle...doesn't save well out of the fridge. Whatever you decide...you are the MOM!

Hello, D. Mom!

Congratulations on breastfeeding your baby. It is a huge commitment and it's not easy to keep at it, especially after introducing the pump and trying to live your life a little bit. I have a 14 week-old daughter and am into my third week back at work. I am breastfeeding her exclusively (they give her bottles with breast milk at day care) and here's what I can say about your questions:

1. Either feed or pump every 2-3 hours to keep your milk supply up; if you're starting to store milk, breastfeed for the amount of time you regularly would, then pump for 5-7 minutes at the end. You can store milk pumped within the same 24 hour period in the same container in the fridge.
2. Try to relax about introducing the bottle. Not all babies have a hard time taking a bottle (though some do): my daughter had her first bottle when she was about 2 months old. It was sloppy, but she took it without a problem. Be patient with yourself and baby.
3. Only warm breastmilk once and don't restore it after it's been thawed and heated (I've seen different responses to this question, but this is my answer).
4. I'm not sure about freezing milk that's been in the fridge and will be interested to hear what other moms say.

I use a Medela breast pump and find their website helpful for questions. Visit www.medelabreastfeedingus.com/tips-and-solutions/11/breas.... Also call information for the local La Leche League and you should be able to talk to someone about your questions.

Good luck!